TotalEnergies mulls Nigerian onshore oil fields exit

TotalEnergies may sell its stake in Nigerian onshore oil licences because of community disruptions, the firm's chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said.

TotalEnergies holds 10pc in a joint venture operated by Shell's Nigerian subsidiary SPDC. With Shell having said last year it is planning to exit the onshore business in the west African country, Pouyanne said his firm will also put up for sale its interest.

"Disruptions by local communities were a source of great concern," Pouyanne said, causing a 25,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) decline in SPDC's production. "We will keep, however, the onshore gas licences of SPDC as they are critical to feed an LNG expansion," he said.

TotalEnergies also plans to divest "some non-strategic oil, particularly production that is high carbon intensity," to further rebalance its energy mix, Pouyanne said. The firm has plans to increase its oil and gas production by about 3pc/yr by 2026, driven by LNG, but has said its oil output will peak this decade, before declining, in line with its assumption that oil demand will peak by 2030.

SPDC has already divested around 50pc of its onshore Nigerian portfolio in the past decade as it grapples with long-running and persistent challenges of crude theft and pipeline sabotage, which it blames for oil spills.

By Elaine Mills